In 1913, a friend of Forrest Adair, an Atlanta, Georgia (USA) financier
and Scottish Rite Mason, suffered a dislocated hip in a train accident. Adair engaged
orthopaedic surgeon Michael Hoke, M.D., to care for his friend. Through this
connection, Dr. Hoke and Adair began a
long friendship resulting in the involvement of Masons in the founding of the Scottish
Rite Convalescent Hospital for Crippled Children.

That same year, Dr. Hoke treated a college student for a bone infection. During
his treatment, the student stayed with his aunt Mrs. William C. (Bertie)
Wardlaw, Sr., a neighbor and friend of Dr. Hoke. Wishing to express her appreciation for
Dr. Hokes treatment of her nephew, Mrs. Wardlaw asked what she could do to honor
him. He said if she would raise the money for the hospital expenses of indigent, crippled
children, he would volunteer his time to treat those patients.

In 1915, The Scottish Rite Convalescent Hospital for Crippled Children was
founded in Decatur in two rented cottages after funds are raised for the care of needy
children by Mrs. Wardlaw and other philanthropic Atlantans. The facility gave indigent,
crippled children a place to recover after having surgery at Piedmont Hospital and Wesley
Memorial Hospital (now Emory University Hospital). It accommodated 18 patients, 20 in case
of urgency. Michael Hoke, M.D., was named Medical Director.

In 1918, a new 50-bed building was opened in Decatur. The name was changed
to Scottish Rite Hospital for Crippled Children, honoring the Masons who raised money to
build the facility. It is now an orthopaedic surgical hospital for those who cannot afford
to pay for care.

In 1933, Scottish Rite Mason Tom Slate convinced Georgia Tech Athletic
Director Bill Alexander to allow the University of Georgia and Georgia Techs
freshman teams to play on Techs Grant Field free of charge to benefit Scottish Rite.
This begins the Scottish Rite football festival. Over 50 years later, it has evolved into
a year-long series of fund-raising events involving hundreds of volunteers.

Finally, in 1966 the hospital began taking paying patients so that
specialty pediatric care would also be available to those who can pay. Other surgical
specialists joined the orthopaedics on staff as new surgical clinics were added and in
1971, additional services were developed including a Pediatric Continuity Clinic plus
neurology, allergy, and cardiology clinics.

The Scottish Rite Childrens Hospital moved to a new, 50-bed facility
on a seven-acre site in north Atlanta in 1976 and the Intensive Care Unit opened as a
four-bed unit.

In 1985, the Emergency Department saw 5,000 patients in its first year of
operation and the following year, a Pediatric Pulmonology Program was started. A year
after that, Scottish Rite was one of Georgias first hospitals to receive state
designation as a pediatric trauma center.

In 1989, the name was changed to Scottish Rite Childrens Medical
Center, comprising the Scottish Rite Childrens Medical Center Foundation, the
Meridian Mark Corporation (the holding company for the Childrens Medical Center
Professional Building), and the Wilbur and Hilda Glenn Hospital for Children.

In addition, Scottish Rite was the first childrens hospital to have
national Miracle Children in the Childrens Miracle Network telethon for
two consecutive years.

They also opened The Center for Craniofacial Disorders and started the
Dorsal Rhizotomy Surgery Program and Sleep Disorders Program.

In 1991, Immunize Georgias Little Guys, a state-wide
coalition to increase immunization rates for children age two and under, was launched by
Scottish Rite and in 1992, the Medical Center received Accreditation with Commendation,
the highest rating possible, from the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare
Organizations (JCAHO). Fewer than four percent of the hospitals surveyed nationally during
the same period received this honor.

That same year, the Child Advocacy Center, which serves sexually abused
children, opened with funding from the Employee Annual Fund Campaign and the School
Outreach Program starts, reaching over 84,000 children in its first two years.

Statistics from the National Pediatric Trauma Registry show that Scottish
Rite trauma patients are more seriously ill or injured than the national norm but, in the
majority of areas, have superior outcomes.

In 1994, a national study of pediatric intensive care units published by
The Journal of the American Medical Association, patients treated in Scottish Rites
intensive care unit had the best outcomes and the following year Scottish Rite receives
its second consecutive Accreditation with Commendation rating from the Joint Commission on
Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO).

These are just a few of the tremendous accomplishments in the history of
this marvelous medical facility.

For the year ended June, 1997, there were 41 Pediatric Specialties of the Medical Staff
which consisted of 645 Physicians, Surgeons and Dentists. There were 5,350 Volunteers and
2,000 Employees. Emergency Department Visits totaled 67,179 while Patient Visits
(Inpatient and Outpatient) totaled 161,336.

The care provided is done in facilities specially designed for these young
patients and this hospital is a proud member of the Masonic Charity family. You can find
out more by visiting the Scottish Rite Children's
Medical Center web site where you can also get some great information about children's
health. Visit it now!

Just
click on "Prince, the Search Dog" to find things on our site. He's on every page
and he'll take you directly to our search form where you can see if we've
written about whatever it is you're interested in. Prince has a great memory; he
always remembers where things are!